Heat-engine.



' PATENTED NOV. 5, 1907.

F. X. GOVERS.

HEAT ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED APR.2, 1907.

WITNESSES:

ATTORN EYS FRANCIS X. GOVERS, OF OWEGO, NEW YORK.

HEAT-ENGINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 5, 1907.

Application filed April 2. 1907- Serial No. 365,921.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, Farmers X. Govnns, a citizenof the United States,residing at Owego, in the countyof Tioga and State of New York, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in HeatEngines; and I dohereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and V which theworking fluid is a chlorid of carbon liquid at ordinary temperatures andof low boiling point. Such chlorids, in the presence of waterandparticularly under the influence of heat, are apt to decompose at times,as I have found, with the liberation of hydrochloric acid (HCl) whichexerts a harmful influence upon iron,

copper, brass, and other common metals of which apparatus using suchchlorids are commonly and, for practical reasons, must necessarily becomposed; for example, the shell and tubes of boilers, engine cylindersand pistons, condensers, and pipes conveying the working fluid. I havefound that this slow but continuous decomposition'may be prevented byremoving the water from the chlorids of carbon and by preventing thepresence in such chlorids, at any time during the operation of theapparatus, of any.material trace of water, maintaining such chlorids inan anhydrous condition. and my invention comprises, in a heat engine,means for abstracting from the chlorid of carbon used as a working fluidany moisture present. It will be understood that not only may thechlorid of carbon, as first introduced into the apparatus, contain somewater, it

being substantially impossible to handle fluids such as this withouttheir taking up some moisture from the atmosphere and from containingvessels,'but moisture is apt to enter the system from time to time whilethe apparatus is in operation, orduring periods of idleness, due toleakage in the system, to the necessity of opening parts of theapparatus for inspection, repair or other reason, and the like.

I have found that it is very advantageous in the operation of engineswith chlorids of carbon to maintain in the system at all times asufficient quantity of a hygroscopic agent to fix and render harmlessany traces of moisture which may gain access to such system In anotherapplication for Letters Patent, 'Sr. No. 306,477, I have described andclaimed a system for generating power wherein carbon tetrachlorid, C01is the working fluid. My invention herein described is applicable tothat system, and constitutes an improvement thereon, but is alsoapplicable to other systems wherein other chlorids of carbon, such aschloroform, chloral, ethylene chlorid, ethylidene chlorid,trichlorethane, etc. are employed as the workingfluids. My inventionfurther provides for the removal of sulfids and like impuritiesfrequently found in commercial chloroform and carbon tetrachlorid, bothof which are often made from carbon bisulfid.

The objects of my invention are to remove impurities, decompositionproducts, etc., from working fluids of the chlorid of carbon type, toavoid chemical attack, or cor rosion of the metallic parts of thesystem, and to accomplish these objects by simple and inexpensive means.

I will now proceed to describe my invention with reference to theaccompanying drawings, and will then point out the novel features inclaims.

Insaid drawings: 'Figure 1 shows diagrammatically and in elevation apower system such as referred to above, and in which the fuel used isproducer gas de rived from-a gas producer. Fig. 2 shows diagrammaticallya boiler or still arranged to use liquid fuel, and which may besubstituted for the boiler or still shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 shows adetail section of the purifier.

In said drawings 1 designates a suitable boiler or still, which may beof any suitable and well known construction, '2 is a pipe by which thevaporized working fluid is conveyed from said boiler or still to anengine 3, which latter may be of any suitable and well known type, 4 isa purifier, 5 a condenser, 6 a storage tank, 7 a pipe leading from saidstorage tank back to the boiler or still 1, and 8 a feed pump. 9 is agas producer, 10 a pipefor conveying gas from said producer to theburner 11 of the boiler or still 1, and 12 is a blower in this pipe 10.

As will be readily understood, the system operates in thefollowingmanner: Carbon tetrachlorid or other working fluid evaporated in boileror still 1 under pressure, is conveyed by pipe 2 to the engine 3 whereinit does work, and then passes through the purifier 4 to the condenser 5and is there condensed to a liquid, the

liquid then passing to the storage tank 6 and is re turned thence to theboiler or still.

The purifier may contain any suitable substance for taking from theworking fluid, traces of impurities and products of decompositiontherein. In the case of carbon tetrachlorid and in like chloride, lime,calcium chlorid or like solid dehydrating agents are suitable. I do notlimit myself to any particular construction of purifier, but that shownis efficient for-the purpose. In the construction shown the purifierconsists of a closed vessel having with-in it a series of staggeredpartitions or baffles 13 between which the lime, calcium chlorid, orother purifying material,

14, is placed; the exhaust vapor from the engine being forced by thestaggered arrangement of the partitions or bafiies to pass through thepurifying material and in intimate contact therewith so that thoroughremoval of water vapor, suliid impurities etc., is substantiallyassured.

